Tips and Resources on Personal Finance for Indian Women

4:13:00 pm

I am back, as promised, with some stuff on personal
finance for women!! In my previous post, we looked at how women were being
impacted by the current demonetization drive and how little control the average
Indian woman had over her finances. But we’re not going to just sit there and
let this continue, are we? We’re going to get educated!

If you’re already a personal finance whiz, then
congratulations!! I sure am jealous of you!! However the fact is, most Indian
women, even urban, educated ones, are clueless about managing their finances
and many women don’t have the freedom to do so. Here are some numbers that
prove this important point.

Less than 50% of working Indian women make
their own financial decisions

80% of Indian women don’t have their own
bank account

The financial literacy of Indian women is a
measly 4%

By and large, women outlive men, due to
which women constitute 87% of impoverished senior citizens

Okay, that’s enough depressing information for today! Now
let’s move on to the good stuff – lots of resources in the form of articles,
videos and books to help you learn and manage your finances better. Let’s go!

Videos
on Personal Finance

1. The Money Talks with Hansi video series on YouTube
is an absolute must watch for anyone who’s serious about personal finance.
Hansi and Mr. Sikka tackle a different finance topic in each video and you have
to admit – they make a hilarious pair! Check out this video about how smart women manage their money.

2. Manisha Thakor is a personal finance expert who is
pretty popular around the globe. Her video on Women & Money drives
home some important points on why financial literacy is so important for women.

3. DSP Black Rock is a mutual fund company, but the
website also has a bunch of information to help you understand investing. Their
videos
are simple to understand and are perfect for newbies to investing.

4. Monika Halan is the editor of Mint Money and she
addresses all kinds of financial queries on the Smart Money show on
Bloomberg TV. Monika is friendly and speaks in a simple manner. Getting to see how different people manage their money based on their particular financial goals can be quite interesting!

Articles
on Personal Finance

1. This article
from Women’s Web focuses on personal finance for single Indian women – women
who absolutely need to handle their finances on their own.

2. Jago Investor
is probably the most popular personal finance website in India right now, and
for good reason! The site contains a wealth of information on pretty much every
financial topic. However, it may seem a little overwhelming for an absolute
newbie.

3. The
Big Decisions website has all kinds of articles about various aspects of
personal finance, from simple ones like how a joint account can be risky to
more large scale ones like how demonetization affects real estate.

4. Money View is a financial app, but their blog has quite a bit of useful information
on all matters pertaining to personal finance. Their articles are quite
applicable to the average Indian who’d like money tips when getting married,
going on a holiday or planning for retirement.

6. Tired of financial jargon? Simplify matters with
this dictionary of sorts, aptly titled “The
Glossary of Incomprehensible Banking Jargon”. So if you’ve always wondered
what Risk Management or Financial Restructuring mean, this is where you should
go!

Books
on Personal Finance

This is probably the first book to have such a specific
target audience – Indian women who want to take charge of their finances!
Written by Ankush Thakur and Priya Florence Shah, the book covers all basic
financial topics like saving and investing and how to go about it.

This book is written with me in mind – yes, someone who’s
scared of financial jargon but still wants to know what it means! Reenita
Malhotra Hora & Divya Vij have written a book that tackles everything –
opening an account, buying a home, investing and saving taxes. Perfect!

If you want to take control of your finances, you need
to be your own financial planner! This book by Manish Chauhan focuses on most
people’s main financial goals like insurance and debt repayment and outlines some
important tips for each.

Remember Monika Halan who we mentioned earlier? This is
her book and is a simple guide for anyone who’d like to secure their family’s
finances. Besides tips and helpful hints, the book also has worksheets to list
your goals and create a plan for them.

This book is part of the RBI’s campaign to improve
financial literacy among the general public. Swapna Mirashi has written it with
finance newbies in mind, people who are staring at the finance world at a
distance, wondering how to dive in!

Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield isn’t exactly a book on
personal finance. It’s more about how women can create a healthy relationship with
money, and actually get what they want and deserve. Many women have ‘money
blocks’, possibly due to familial and societal constraints on women dealing
with money. This book helps to get rid of those blocks and open yourself up for
abundance.

Now you have quite a bit of information on your hands,
don’t you? But remember, all the information in the world can’t help if you don’t
take action! Follow these tips to get started on your journey of 100% financial
independence.

5 Tips
for Financial Planning for Women

1. Track your spending – Jot down where every rupee is
going, even if it’s just for an autorikshaw ride! So when you look at it at the
end of the month, you’ll have the answer to ‘Where’s all my money going?’.

2. Set financial goals – Sit and think about what you
want in life, for yourself and your family. For most people financial goals
include an emergency fund, a home, health and life insurance, children’s
education and retirement.

3. Budget, budget, budget! Decide on fixed percentages
of your income to be spent on utilities,

extras, savings, debt repayment and
charity. Fix an amount for each category and stick to it!

4. Invest smartly – This is where most women start
hemming and hawing. Women are good savers but not good investors. Building your
wealth is very important – not just to land up on the Forbes list, but to beat
inflation and maintain your standard of living.

5. Grow your income – If you have a job, learn new
skills so you can work your way up. If you’re an entrepreneur, think of new
ways to expand your business. If you’re a homemaker, think of how you can
generate an income in your spare time.

For proper financial management, you’ll need to
regularly review everything – your goals, your budgets and your investments.
Many banks have special schemes for women when it comes to insurance and loans,
so make the most of them.

Take the time to educate yourself – maybe spend 15
minutes a day reading an article or watching a video. Educating yourself not
just improves your financial prospects, it helps others too. You’ll be in a
better position to educate your house help, for example, and she’ll be able to
pass on this information to the women around her. So go ahead and take control
of your money – you’ll be glad you did!!

Very useful Post Fabida! I have always found that Indian women excel in savings, however all these savings are kept in their personal boxes at home. Oh yeah this demonetization had an effect on many of them, well they never try to invest or plan further.Menaka Bharathi has recently published http://simpleindianmom.in/paleo-diet-myths-truths-know/

That's a great collection of resources there. Thank you for sharing. I do have an account but you are right that I keep pushing the decisions about learning taxation etc. It's important to learn these important aspects.